A few years ago we received a request from the West Bridgewater Board of Selectmen – they wanted more coverage of their town.

Officials sent us a letter outlining their case, and reminded us of their proximity and the newspaper’s important role. They also promised assistance, saying, “We are willing to work with whomever you assign as our reporter to get local stories to your paper.”

We were more than happy to comply, of course. But be careful what you wish for.

Turns out, our attempt at reaffirming our coverage commitment started as the town’s relationship with police Lt. Raymund Rogers ended. Not just that, but the Police Department had been mired in controversy, with four veteran officers having filed lawsuits or complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Three of them eventually reached sizable settlements with the town, including Rogers, officer Joyce Graf, and Sgt. Philip Tuck. The fourth deal, with Thomas Richmond, remains hidden.

We had covered some of these cases, but certainly there was much more to report on. That meant the town officials’ pledge to help us – as they had made in their letter – would soon be tested.

They would fail.

The Rogers’ story was still reverberating at the time the town reached out. He and the town had held five closed-door negotiations to end a months-long disciplinary hearing against him.

The two sides reached their deal in 2008. Rogers would retire, they agreed, and there would be no findings on the accusations against him – he would receive the $67,000 pension he had earned.

There was more – a financial agreement outside of the pension had been reached in the secret meetings. But how much were taxpayers on the hook for? Not just that, what had happened in those five meetings? How long did they last and cost?

State public record laws are simple and sensible on the expenditure of town money and the actions of town officials – taxpayers have a right to know where every public penny goes, and why.

Also, if any business is conducted in closed-door sessions, which are allowed in sensitive negotiations, the outcome and content must be revealed once the matter is settled.

We asked the town official for the information. But instead of the warm welcome we were promised, we got a cold shoulder.

And have since.

It took us three years, several appeals to the state, and considerable expenditure of funds to finally wrangle Rogers’ financial settlement from the town, as well as the minutes of the closed-door meetings.

The process was arduous. Now, they’re doing it again.

Some of the faces have changed – most notably, town administrator Elizabeth Faricy has been replaced by David Gagne, and selectman Matt Albanese has been replaced by Nancy Maloney – but the fakery is all too familiar.

Page 2 of 2 - Now, we’re engaged in yet another protracted fight with town leaders, this time to have the Richmond settlement finally released.

As they have done before, officials are claiming a confidentiality clause prohibits them from doing so. They tried, in futile fashion, the same maneuver in the Rogers case.

But enough is enough. The town has been dealing with police problems for a decade, and spending untold taxpayer money to settle them.

It’s time to come clean on all the police disputes – and make it clear to residents what they are dealing with, what they have paid for, and what kind of government they can expect.

Someone not too long ago said it best in a letter we received. It’s vital for the local newspaper to attend and cover town affairs, they wrote, otherwise “the quality and quantity of news suffers, leaving people unaware of current events.”

After all, the letter said, people “rely on this publication for local information ... and news.”

Signed, the West Bridgewater Board of Selectmen.

Managing editor Steve Damish can be reached at Sdamish@enterprisenews.com